Crimson colored snow
by FirePhoenixAce
Summary: On Hold! It's the 1800s, a ruthless murdurer is terrorizing the town, leaving the police helpless, forcing them to find the only person who might be able to put the murdurer in place. Ace x Marco (Inspired by Jack the ripper)
1. Chapter 1

**Hi everyone, this is a short chapter to see how many that may be interested in this story, please review you opinions, the next chapter is going to be uploaded before the end of the week.**

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I walked along the river trying not to think, I had had a rough day and needed to get myself together before going home to my brothers.

I currently worked as a "Housekeeper" as they called it, I cocked, cleaned, repaired things, took care of the animals and so on.

It wasn't a nice job but I still worked in one of the bigger houses and the salary was a good one for this kind of work.

The reason for me being so upset was something one of the people living in the house had said, his name had been Enel, and he had caught me looking up to the castle on the highest hill in the country.

"You know, people like you should be happy they are even allowed to live with us good people, rats like you belong with the dumpsters and trash OUTSIDE the city, the rest of us will always be above you, so stop dreaming will you". That wasn't all he said, or you might even say, that was a NICE way to say it.

I didn't mind him talking about me like that, I know I'm nothing good really, but when he said it, he also talked about my brothers, my family. And that is what hurt most. He had no right to say things like that, but still there was NOTHING I could do about it if I wanted to keep my job, or get any job at all in the future.

My thoughts where interrupted by a voice beside me, I looked at my right, surprised someone actually talked to me.

"Excuse me sir, But are you alright"? The man asked.

"oh.. yes, I'm sorry I was just thinking about something, I answered looking away.

"Oh, well would you mind me walking with you for a bit then? It's such a beautiful night, and I have been earning for some company" he said, he, just like myself, had his hood up, shadowing the face but I could swear that he was smiling.

"Yes, that should be alright, I'm on my way home though" I answered, smirking myself, I didn't know why, but I liked this well-mannered stranger. A lot.

We walked for a while in silence, enjoying the night.

"So.. what are you doing outside at this time of night? It's dangerous outside at nights you know" I finally asked. Most people would be at home with their families, or you know… asleep.

"Just enjoying the silence of the night, also I can take care of myself. And you"? he asked calmly

"Same, I'm on my way home from work to my brothers, they are probably worried…" I answered thoughtfully.

That was true, Sabo was a worrier, and there had been a streak of brutal murders in the city the last few months, no one was stupid enough to be outside by themselves now a days, well. Except me, that is.

"Oh, I see" he said and stayed quiet for a while before continuing.

"Well, mind if I walk you home then? It would feel wrong to leave you alone this time of night".

I thought for a moment and accepted.

The rest of the way we talked about everything and nothing, asked each other questions and I laughed at his answers.

We didn't give names, wanting to keep the mystic of the night alive.

I couldn't help but smile at the flutter in my chest every time he laughed at my jokes and as we said good bye he leaned forward and kissed my hand.

I didn't even care when my brother yelled frenetically about how worried he had been as I stepped in to the house.

All I could think of was the stranger I had met by the river, a cold November night, and smile.

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Hope you enjoyed it!

Ages:

Ace-17

Sabo-17

Marco-19

Luffy-8


	2. Chapter 2

**Ace's POV**

I left home early and walked through the silent city, it was still dark outside and it was snowing.

I thought of Christmas, it was not even 2 months away and I had at least get Lu something, he loved Christmas like nothing else, the snow, the presents, the food… I made a face as I thought of the food, it would be expensive as hell but it was worth it if it would make his little brother smile.

We would manage somehow, Sabo worked as a private teacher part time when he didn't had to take care of Luffy, Luffy had been very sick but it finally seemed like he was finally getting better for real.

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I walked by the river when I heard a noise from an alley a few feet to the side and I automatically turned my head at the noise.

I slowly walked closer as I saw some movement, curious but still on guard since I had no idea what or who it could be, as I came closer I saw it was a young woman, maybe in her early twenties, the dress was nice but worn out, probably a prostitute.

I frowned and walked closer to ask if she was alright when I saw it.

The snow around her was crimson red, colored by the blood that poured out from a wound in her stomach.

My eyes widened and I ran to her, not sure what to do as I lifted her up in my arms and screamed for help.

Not waiting for anyone to answer I ran as fast as I could to the closest doctor and pounded on the door, hoping I wasn't too late.

I waited by the woman's side as long as I could but realized that if I didn't hurry I'd be late for work, that would have been really bad.

The day continued slowly and I couldn't really let the image of the young woman go, I had talked a bit with the doctor after he had did what he could for her, according to him she must have been in that alley for a few hours, and that she had made it that long was nothing short of a miracle!

I also thought of the man I had met yesterday, it couldn't be… no. of course not. If it was, then why spare me? He had had all time in the world to kill me on the way home to my brothers.

But still… who else would go around town in the dark of the night, wearing a hood to hide you face?

He had said he just enjoyed the night, nothing about a family, a job, or friends, or.. anything about himself at all that could give me a clue on who the hooded man could be.

As he walked home that night he decided on a different path just in case, not sure what to think of the man in the black and blue hood.

 **Normal POV**

To say that Smoker was tired was a big understatement.

He had stayed up two nights In a row, he had been on a mission to keep an eye out for the murderer but had found no trace. Last night another victim, number 37 and 38 to be more exact had been discovered. A young woman and an older man had been stabbed in the chest and bleed to death.

Smoker sighed and hide his face in his hands, they need to catch this maniac soon or the people in the city will go crazy, the people are already scared, and when people get scared, they have a bad habit of going crazy…

Smoker rose up from his seat and looked out the window at the silent town and sighed.

He had put his best man on this case only a few days ago and he hoped he wouldn't get disappointed. He didn't have time for that.

Not now.

 **Ace's POV**

"Sabo, Luffy, I'm home now"! I yelled as I stepped through the door and closed it behind me.

I could hear a shout of excitement and the sound of running feet before Luffy's small form crashed in to me, I was so used to it that I didn't even stumble, expecting it from the beginning.

Sabo stopped at the doorway to the kitchen eyeing me up and down with a frown on his face and I gave him a look that said "Not in front of Luffy", and he nodded.

"Dinner's ready" he said before walking back into the kitchen followed by an overly excited Luffy who yelled about how starving he was, I was hungry as well but stayed behind to catch my breath, I had felt a little down for a few days, I didn't have the same energy as I usually had, to put it bluntly, I was a bigger, and a lot smarter version of Luffy, Happy, laughing and pranking, now I had a hard time to walk the stairs, and that said a lot.

I stayed in the hallway for a few minutes until Luffy came back and dragged me into the kitchen.

I stayed quiet almost the whole time, trying to ignore Sabo's worried glances, what would I say to him?

"Sabo, I think I'm going sick, I won't be able to work and take care of my family, and I might also die".

No I couldn't say that, I have to ignore it and it might go away, I have to work and take care of my brothers, it's my duty as the oldest one, Luffy need me and he just got better, we all know that a simple disease can be deadly if you're as poor as we are, and if Luffy get sick again we'll need the money to care for him!

No, I won't tell him. I'll just keep quiet.

When we had eaten and put Luffy to bed Sabo turned to me and crossed his arms, demanding an answer.

I sighed and told him about the woman I found this morning and as I suspected Sabo turned even more serious as I told him every single detail, I left the mystery man out though, I knew he would go crazy if I told him about that, lecture me to be more careful, not to talk to strangers that late, he would probably start to go meet me after work and walk me home and I would not let my brother risk his own health like that, it was bad enough as it was.

As I finished and he was done with the 15 minutes lecture on being more careful we went to bed, but before we lay down on each side of our little brother he gave me a look and I knew that he knew that I was keeping something from him but that he wouldn't push more tonight, and for that I was thankful.

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When I woke up the next day I found the bed empty, Sabo had a class today and probably took Luffy with him, he did that when he could, we didn't like to leave Luffy alone, he was way to irresponsible for that, well… what do you expect from an 8 year old, right?

I stood up but was close to fall when I suffered from dizziness, I took on his head and closed his eyes, glad that Luffy and Sabo did not see me, they were just worried.

After a few minutes, it released and I walked slowly down the stairs to the ground floor and into the kitchen.

On the table was a plate of eggs, a piece of bread, a slice of bacon and a glass of milk.

I was both moved and got a guilty conscience at the same time, meat was expensive and the only one that used to get meat home with us was Luffy and if someone was sick.

"Sabo have to worry more than I first thought," I mumbled to myself and felt a pang of guilt.

Even so, I ate everything on the plate and drank the milk, which also is pretty expensive if one was as poor as we are, If there was something we never did so, it was wasting food.

Immediately when I had eaten I dressed in my work clothes and left the house, I had no jacket just my cloak, since i never froze anyway we had put the money on a good jacket to Luffy and Sabo, even if Sabo didn't like the idea at all, so you can understand how surprised I was when I began to shiver as soon as I step outside the door and was greeted by the cold winter morning.

I trembled and began to walk faster than usual, trying to get up the heat a little.

I was so concentrated on getting up the heat at first I did not notice that I was iaktagen the foremost person started walking beside me.

I jumped, surprised, and then I recognized the black and blue trim.

"It's you again," I said

"Hello to you too" the man replied, amused.

I rolled my eyes and continued walking at a rapid pace, the stranger did not seem to have any of the slightest trouble to follow my pace.

"Isn't it cold like that"? he asked after a moment with a pensive tone.

"Well, not everyone can afford expensive winter coats, now can we." I said short and glanced at him with an irritated look.

The man was silent for a moment before he spoke again.

"What's your name?" He asked simply, but he surprised me anyway

"My name is Ace" I answered before I had time to think it through.

"Hey Ace, My name is Marco," he said with a happy voice.

"Hey Marco" I mumbled.

He chuckled quietly and said, "Sorry, I must go now, but I'm sure we'll meet again very soon."

And then he was gone, leaving me behind, blinking and wondering what the fuck just happened.

The day progressed, I washed the windows when I suddenly got dizzy and was about to lose his balance on the ladder, at the last second I regained his footing and managed to avoid the case of three meters and avoided most likely a broken leg in the process.

I continued slowly with my work, I did not encounter dizziness, back when I worked at this altitude, it would be horrible if I was involved in an accident and unable to work.

When I was done for the day, I was exhausted and did not look forward to the 3km long way home in the cold.

Just when I'd walk out the door I was stopped by the home owner, as soon as I saw the facial expression so I got a big lump in my stomach, I recognized that look, and it was not any good.

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I stood outside my and my brother's house, I had been standing there a long time and my hands were blue with the cold, but I just could not bring myself to go inside.

How could I tell them that I had lost our greatest income?

That I was a useless excuse of a man who could not even support my own family?

They would lose all respect for me, and it would crush me.

"Stop being such a coward" I thought, my brothers love me, they will understand!

"But you are already short of money, how will you be able to take care of Luffy if his illness will come back"? I thought, I knew it was true.

We were already short of money, I just cannot say we do not has enough to get by even in the winter anymore.

"I'll just find another job ..." I thought resolutely, though I knew it was practically impossible.

I hid my face in my hands and groaned when I heard the door open.

"Ace! Why are you standing out in the cold come in"! I heard Sabo say, and I looked up at his confused face and I quickly smiled an apologetic smile.

"Sorry Sab, I lost myself in thoughts hehe" I said and he raised an eyebrow but said nothing when I stepped through the door into the warmth.

After dinner, I still sat at the table.

Sabo called for me to come to bed and I replied that I will soon.

I put a hand on my throbbing head and wrinkled my nose, my health became worse and worse and I still had not decided what I would say to Sabo, I could not go to work tomorrow, but if I stayed at home, he would be suspicious.

My thoughts were interrupted by a light tap on the door and I got up to open, it went slowly because my limbs ached from the loss of energy.

Once I got to the door there was no one outside, I looked down and saw a package on the ground.

I took it up and read the card.

"Merry Christmas in advance Ace, many warm wishes from Marco"

I stood in the doorway and blinked, before I decided to just open the package.

I opened slowly, a little puzzled as to why he would give me something, and what.

when the paper fell to the side I gasped as I saw what was in the package. It was a long black coat to wear under my cloak, but what caught my attention the most was the hat.

It was black with orange details, read pearls around the head part with a smiling and a sad face, and I loved it.

I turned to look at the empty street and smiled.

The joy disappeared, however, as soon as I walked into our shared bedroom and looked down at my sleeping brothers. And when I lay beside Luffy's little body, I knew what I needed to do, I did not like it, and I did not even want to think about Sabo's face if he would ever find out about this. I closed my eyes as I made my decision.

I'd have to sell my body.


	3. Chapter 3

Ace stood in an alley, hiding from the dim light from the street lights, it was late but there was stil a few hours until he was supposed to be heading home, he had been standing here for about 4,5 hours and had already had his first costumer for the night.

He had been working with this for almost a week now and no matter how many days that went by, the self-hatred he felt only kept on growing.

He did his best to hide it from his brothers, Luffy was easy to trick but Sabo was a whole different story. He just hoped he didn't suspect anything, Ace wasn't sure he could bare the look on Sabo's face if he ever found out what he was actually doing all night.

He had told him he had been given the task to act as sort of a nanny until the family could get a real one, it was a very weak lie and it was a miracle that Sabo hadn't said anything at the moment, he hadn't even looked suspicious.

Not that Ace complained really.

He straightened his position as a man came closer and tried to look awake, he had been really weak and tired lately and he was sure that Sabo had noticed by now.

The man got closer and Ace put on a seductive smirk, it worked as the man nodded and followed Ace into the alley to do whatever dirty things he had in mind.

Ace did his best to think about something else, whatever that would distract him from what was happening and the stranger from earlier popped into mind.

He had never got his name or seen his face, but it was something about him that made Ace's heart beat harder and made a mile tug at his lips.

He would do a lot to get one more chance to talk to the man, maybe even get his name…

After a few more minutes, the man was finished and turned to leave making Ace frown.

"Oi, you didn't pay" he said with a firm voice.

"And what is a whore like you going to do huh"? he said with a raised eyebrow.

Ace sighed, what was it with these guys? This was like the 10th time a guy tried to screw him over.

Despite the irony in that sentence, it was really annoying.

Ace walked forward, grabbed the man' s collar and lifted him up against the wall, his hat shadowing his eyes.

"Pay up you disgusting worm, or maybe your family would be interested in what you are doing at nights"? he hissed with a grave voice that promised a painful future if he didn't do as he was told.

The reaction was as suspected, the man paled and gave Ace what he oved, with a nice tip.

Ace didn't really like threatening his costumers, but this one deserved it.

His brothers needed the money after all, and despite Ace's occupation he wasn't a piece of meat.

He sighed again.

"Can't this night just end" he thought.

Many hours and costumers later, it was finally time to go home and Ace couldn't be happier.

His ass hurt like hell by now and he just wanted to go to sleep already.

He walked slowly, feeling like he would pass out any second and had to lean on a close by building to catch his breath.

After a while he felt strong enough to keep on walking but stopped as he heard something in the alley between the two houses he was standing next to, he frowned as he saw a young woman and a man, at first he thought it was a hooker working over, but quickly threw that thought away as he saw the blood.

"OI" Ace screamed, completely forgetting his weak state, walking over to the two, pushing the man hard in the chest.

"What the he.." Ace stopped in the middle of the sentence as he felt a sharp pain in his stomach and felt something warm flow down his body, he looked down and saw the blood pumping out of a big wound.

As soon as the man took the knife out, he bended over and started couching, more blood coming out of his mouth.

"mote…rfu…cker…." He said, even though it sounded a bit blurred since his mouth was full of blood still.

He crawled over to the woman, only to see she was dead, her throat slit open.

Ace groaned in disappointment as he lay down, his vision was starting to blur and he was so tired…

he closed his eyes and everything went black.

 **Marco's POV**

"UGH, why does it have to be so damn cold" I thought as I walked down the road as fast as I could, it was only October but it felt more like December to be honest.

It was late and I was finally on my way home from work, it had been a hectic day to say the least.

As I walked I thought of the boy I had met a few days earlier, it was something about him, something that made me feel warm and comfortable.

The way he talked made him sound older than he probably were.

I hadn't seen him for days now and I kind of missed him even though we had only spoken a few times.

My thoughts where interrupted as I heard shouting, I couldn't exactly make out what the person was saying, but the voice was something I wouldn't forget.

It was Ace's voice.

I walked faster as I could tell something was wrong, when the yelling suddenly stopped in mid-sentence I started running, my heart banging and the dread filling my stomach.

Only three blocks later I came to an alley, at first I thought it was empty until I saw something hidden in the shadows to my left, and mu heart nearly stopped.

It was two bodies, and one of them was Ace.

I dropped to my knees and lifted him up in my arms, shaking him, trying to wake him up, then I saw the blood.

To say I panicked would probably be an understatement, I had seen dead bodies before, but never someone I cared about.

I had noticed the woman too, but I could tell that she was already dead so I pain her no mind, I was busy looking for some kind of proof that the boy was still alive.

When I found his pulse, even if it was weak it was still there, I almost cried from relief, I picked him up and ran to the closest doctor, hoping it wouldn't be to late.


End file.
